Morning Rundown: Smith-Pelly taking it all in

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Many coaches and veteran players note how tough the travel is in the Western Conference because the distance and time zones between several cities.

Devante Smith-Pelly isn't bothered by it one bit. Chartered flights will beat a five-hour or six-hour bus ride any day of the week.

"It's a lot more comfortable," Smith-Pelly said. "I'm on a plane. I've got my legs up and all that stuff. In a bus, we're all pretty tight. It can get uncomfortable for those rides.

"The travel is really not that big of a deal to me. It's easier. Nicer hotels. All that stuff. It's all new to me. It's not as rough as it sounds."

Smith-Pelly might have a different answer if he's fortunate to put 15 years into the NHL. Right now, the 19-year-old rookie is taking everything in while he continues to appear in the lineup for the Ducks instead of being back with the junior level Mississauga St. Michael's Majors of the Ontario Hockey League.

Even with one-quarter of the season behind him, Smith-Pelly said: "Time has gone by pretty quickly. I feel like I kind of just got here. It's kind of weird. It's exciting that I've been here for that long."

The Ducks have received minimal production from their cadre of young forwards and Smith-Pelly is no exception with just one goal and one assist in his first 18 games. But the Scarborough, Ontario native has kept earning ice time by successfully killing penalties and Coach Randy Carlyle has rewarded him with some shifts on the power play.

"He's played higher in our lineup than any of the other guys," Carlyle said. "So we feel that he's earned an opportunity. He's a guy that doesn't panic with the puck. Doesn't panic with it along the wall in the defensive zone when the puck comes around the wall. He's not under pressure when he has the puck.

"The one thing he has experienced some difficulties with when he's down low and being our first forward back in the defensive zone coverage. We've talked with him about it. He comes and he stands versus being active in that role."

Once he earned a roster spot with a strong training camp, Smith-Pelly said it didn't take long to realize how different the regular season was than exhibition games.

"We played a pretty quick, small team in Buffalo in Helsinki," he said. "I remember my first couple of shifts. I was kind of like this is lot of faster than preseason was. That's probably my first taste of real NHL speed. Obviously it took me about a period to kind of get my feet under me and to kind of realize what was happening.

"Since then, the game sort of slowed down for me. I've gotten a little more comfortable with and without the puck."

Like many of his teammates, Smith-Pelly has had trouble generating many prime scoring chances but has also been a victim of some bad luck. The winger whipped a wrist shot Sunday that was destined to sail past Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard into the open top left corner, only to see the puck skip off the knob of Howard's stick.

"Actually after the game, I watched that a bunch of times," Smith-Pelly said. "That's just kind of how things are going right now. Everything is that much off. Not much you can do about that. It was a nice save."

Smith-Pelly said that he's "learned a lot for sure" from being around his teammates every day and believes he's a better player now than in camp. How he does over the next quarter of the season will determine whether the Ducks keep him beyond the 40-game mark, which will be one season that counts toward unrestricted free agency.

"We like and we're happy with his growth so far," Carlyle said. "He's got to live it every day and do it every day. You can't have any fall off."

-- The Ducks have a long history with hard-hitting Phoenix captain Shane Doan but Carlyle has had a longer association with the venerable Coyotes forward.

Carlyle's first season as an assistant coach with the original Winnipeg Jets was 1995-96 when Doan broke in with the team as a 19-year-old after being the seventh overall pick of the 1995 draft. Doan followed the team to Phoenix the next season and has forged a 16-year career while becoming the face of the Coyotes.

"When he came in, we thought he was a better prospect than Keith Tkachuk in the same age group as an 18-year-old," Carlyle said. "When you compared both of them, Shane Doan was a better prospect for a long-term pro. We were that excited to have him. We couldn't believe that we got him in the draft."

Carlyle said he recalled being at that draft in Edmonton and hearing Oilers fans chant "Doan, Doan". The Oilers, with the sixth overall pick, took Steve Kelly of the Western Hockey League's Prince Albert Raiders. The Jets snapped up Doan, who starred with the WHL's Kamloops Blazers.

Kelly played in 149 games with five NHL teams. Doan has appeared in 1,138 and racked up 302 goals, 448 assists and 1,033 penalty minutes. Like many at the time, Carlyle thought the Oilers were all over Doan.

"Steve Kelly was a dynamic player in Prince Albert at the time," Carlyle said. "I was scouting then too. He fell into our lap."

Some other notable selections in that 1995 draft: Ottawa took Bryan Berard first and the New York Islanders selected Wade Redden second with the two being traded for each other. The Kings took Aki Berg third and the Ducks selected Chad Kilger fourth. Dallas, with the 11th pick, grabbed Jarome Iginla and Hartford, selecting 13th, took Jean-Sebastien Giguere.

-- Jonas Hiller is expected to get the start in goal. Here are the line combinations and defense pairings for tonight against the Coyotes:

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